


In Defence of Liars

by orphan_account



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist (Anime 2003), Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: Alcoholism, Baaaaad times, Callous Language, Gen, Hughes is a mysterious motherfucker, Mental Illness, Read at Your Own Risk, Roy Has a Bad Time, Suicidal Thoughts, Truth and Honesty, iwasabitdrunkwheniwrotethis, mental health, not a happy fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-30
Updated: 2020-04-30
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:27:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23936101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: In which Roy ends up not having to make a horrible decision, Hughes is too dedicated to his friends, shit goes sideways, life is terrible, and no one is having a good time. (Exceptmaybe fuckinnn, i dunno Armstrong?)
Relationships: Roy Mustang & Maes Hughes, Roy Mustang & Winry Rockbell
Kudos: 10
Collections: Truth or...?





	In Defence of Liars

**Author's Note:**

> This is my submission for the snipers discord prompt truth/Honesty. I didn’t mean for it to get this dark it just happened. I am also on my third glass of wine so excuse the typos plese. I originally wasn’t gonna do the prompt but fuck it i managed to write 800 words ish so its good enough lol. Happy reading!!!!

Roy Mustang had always been fairly optimistic. Growing up in a brothel had jaded him slightly, but never to the point that he disliked living. To him, living was full of opportunity, change, freedom. Illnesses of the mind were commonplace in Amestris. Everybody knew of them. But no one talked about them, except the unaffected, gossiping in hushed whispers like fishwives. Words were tossed about freely, like their meaning was something far off, like the evil dragon in a far distant land. _Psycho, suicidal, schizo_. Frightening, yes, but unlikely to affect them.

They could never accept the truth, not even Roy. Not before that place. That hell. Now he knew that those words chased doggedly at the heels of even normal people, children and adults alike.

It was so obvious, the moment he stepped off the train back home.

The mother, struggling with anxiety and the thankless job of raising at least four energy vacuums. The businessman rushing through the crowd, his sense of self worth depleting by the second. The youth in the corner, head in the clouds thinking, “Nothing matters so why?”

A little honesty could do these people some good, he thought. It would be nice to not be alone with his demons.

The little boy who loved the world would never give up seeing the sun in the sky and hearing the sounds of life, bold and bright.

The man who the world could never love thought that that was too mighty a privilege for him.

~~~~~

One of the most common... demons, was grief. A formidable foe that sank its claws into all. Maybe that was why he visited Resembool that day, in the vain hope that maybe the Rockbell’s weren’t too affected by the loss of Sara and Yuriy. From the moment he thought that, he shredded the notion. Everyone means something to someone. And so he shouldered the burden, to look at the faces of the lives that had been ruined.

The Elrics had their demons, that was plain to anyone who saw them. But they shouldered them as best they could. No, his eyes were drawn to the little girl, whose parents’ blood had been spilt right before his eyes, his finger still quaking on the trigger. She carried the grief, but looked closer to crumbling beneath it, even after all that time.

~~~~~

Hughes offered to let Winry stay at his home. It was baffling. He knew what happened to her parents. How can he look her in the eyes and smile? Isn’t honesty important anymore?!

“What are you doing Hughes?” He had asked.

“What do you mean?” replied Maes, looking steadfastly at the bottles behind the bar.

Roy watched the bartender move about for a moment before speaking, “Winry Rockbell.”

Hughes made a non-committal noise, “Winry Rockbell. Nice girl, don’t you think?”

Roy sighed and stared at his drink. Brandy was a lovely colour.

~~~~~

Maes was dead. That was a fact. Grass is green, the sky is blue and Maes Hughes is dead. Six feet under, making great friends out of worms. The type of friends who could really... get under your skin, but were gentle about it. Eesh, how morbid. To them, he was just a sack of meat and blood with a few bones to hold it all together. Just like Sara and Yuriy Rockbell. Just like anyone else. What makes a human special, is all in someone’s soul. But, what makes someone special? What is the scale of specialness we strive to advance on? Special to few, or to many? And what’s more important?

Thoughts like these should be banished to a dark recess of his mind, safe for a day when he can crack open some bourbon and lock his weapons in his safe.

Alcohol is the true hero in this story.

~~~~~

When Winry confronts him about her parents’ deaths, he can’t bring himself to tell the truth. Is he a coward? Maybe. But a loyal one.

He doesn’t say how Maes rushed in ahead of him, gun at the ready, dealing two fatal shots to the poor couple. Roy knew how much Winry admired Maes Hughes. Let her cling to something. He didn’t think shed be strong enough for the truth.

It’s much later that he realises that despising him has helped Winry Rockbell grow. She see can see the object of her hate, and pin all of her problems to it. Unhealthy maybe. People deal with grief much better when they have something to blame. Not just a dragon in a far distant land. Definitely not the friendly monster down the corridor. In the end, an Amestrian soldier killed her parents. And Roy’s been shouldering the blame for the Amestrian soldiers since Ishval. Telling a lie to spare some hurt. The perfect defence for all liars.

He pour himself some whiskey. The hero of this story.

**Author's Note:**

> Hoi hoi thank you for sticking with me. Now seriousnesssss.
> 
> This fic was slightly inspired by the passing away of both of my dad’s parents in the space of two weeks. My grandad died from COVID-19 and my grandma from cancer. In this work i was trying to illustrate how grief always comes, and there are certain ways of dealing with it. It’s very hard to overcome it for some people if they have no one to blame. 
> 
> Winry blames Mustang in this fic because she does genuinely think he’s their killer. However she doesn’t open herself to the option it could have actually been someone else. Mustang lets this happen because 1) he believes its a perverted sense of penance 2）he knows it would hurt her to find out that Hughes killed her parents given she admires him. So the real question is was Mustang right or wrong? Spare her pain and let her be ignorant? Or enlighten her and watch her break apart all over again?
> 
> For me, it doesn’t really matter what killed my grandparents. The dragons that took them are both terrible diseases and i found myself thinking does it matter which one it was? Mustang and Hughes were both soldiers, terrible dragons in their own rights. Does she just want someone to blame? I would too, but i dont have anyone to blame.
> 
> Also wanted to talk a little look at mental health ooop. Stay safe. You’re beautiful.
> 
> Sorry for the philosophical rant. Hope it gets you thinking. And if you’re on lockdown, STAY THE FUCK INDOORS.


End file.
